Morbidity on youth expeditions to developing countries

To document the frequency of illness and injury on youth expeditions and to compare this information with published data concerning other travelers.

During July and August 1996, 945 young people aged 15 to 20 years traveled to the developing world with a single expedition company, World Challenge Expeditions Ltd. All groups were supervised by adult leaders. Leaders recorded all episodes of illness or injury occurring on the expedition on medical cards. We report a retrospective analysis of these medical cards.

There were no deaths or emergency repatriations for the entire group of 65 expeditions. A complete set of medical cards was received from 47 of 65 expeditions (72%). Data were available for 644 individuals (309 male and 335 female). Local medical advice was sought on 17 occasions (1% of all episodes); 2 expeditioners required admission to a hospital. Four hundred eighty individuals (75%) experienced 1646 recorded health problems during their expedition. The most common problems were headache (18% of individuals), diarrhea (33%), nausea and/or vomiting (20%), and respiratory tract symptoms (14%).

This study suggests supervised travel to the developing world is safe for young people. The incidence of gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms was similar to that in travelers of other age groups, and trauma or serious injury was much less common in this group than is reported in other travelers. Headache was more common than in older travelers and indicates that preexpedition briefing should focus on the assessment and potential significance of this symptom in the younger age group, particularly at high altitude (above 2500 m).